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George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


REMARKS 


ON   THE 


MANUFACTURE   OF   BANK   NOTES 


AND  OTHER 


PROMISES     TO    PAY 


ADDRESSED 


TO    THE 


Cantors   of  t[je    |out[iern   Conffbrran], 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C: 

STEAM  POWER-PRESS  OF  F.  G.  DkFONTAINE  A  CO. 

1864. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2011  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/remarksonmanufac01keat 


CHAPTER     I . 

The  worthy,  witty  and  garrulous  "  Fray  Antonia 
Agapida,"  tells  us  that  a  certain  Count  de  Tendilla, 
being  closely  beset  in  the  mountains  of  Granada,  be- 
hind well  battered  walls,  with  an  army  clamorous  lor 
pay,  and  his  affairs,  as  well  as  those  of  the  brave 
Christian  defenders  of  Albania,  in  a  bad  way,  struck 
upon  a  bright  idea;  one  which  shows  to  ihe  world 
that  the  brave  Catholic  cavalier  had,  in  addition  to 
his  ability  for  giving  or  taking  hard  knocks,  a 
talent  for  finance,  equalled  only  by  the  famous 
"  Law, "  in  the  power  of  making  something  out  of 
nothing,  yet  excelling  that  worthy  in  the  redemption 
of    his  pledges. 

The  chronicler  says  that  the  Count  took  certain 
morsels  of  paper,  and,  writing  the  amount  of  the 
sum  he  wished  them  to  represent,  affixed  his  name, 
and  ordered  that  the  inhabitants  of  Albania  should 
take  them  in  payment  at  the  gold  values  repre- 
sented, threatening  the  severest  penalties  to  all  who 
should  refuse  their  reception.  So  (according  to  Fray 
Antonia)  the  newly-born  assignats,  mandate,  or  shin 
plasters,  had  an  excellent  circulation ;  the  soldiers' 
wants  were  relieved;  nay,  their  extravagances  sup- 
plied, the   doubting   were  re-assured,   the  brave   made 


more  brave,  and  "by  a  subtle  and  most  miraculous 
kind  of  alchemy  did  this  Catholic  cavalier  turn 
worthless  paper  into  precious  gold,  and  make  his  late 
impoverished  garrison  abound  in  money."  The  best 
of  the  joke,  or  experiment,  was,  that  the  brave 
Count  redeemed  his  little  notes ;  an  example,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  that  has  not,  in  all  cases,  been  followed 
by  his  more  vulgar  or  more  dishonest  imitators.  The 
worthy  Father  claims,  however,  for  "  the  Count,"  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  inventor  of  paper  money, 
"  which  has  since  inundated  the  civilized  world  with 
unbounded  opulence."* 

Admitting  that  the  Count  de  Tendilla  was  the 
father  of  a  system  eminently  convenient,  it  becomes 
evident  that  writing  the  amounts,  numbering  and 
signing  of  bits  or  pieces  of  portable  material,  repre- 
senting large  or  small  sums,  could  not  be  continued 
successfully  by  those  who  adopted  his  discovery ; 
and  to  meet  a  rapidly  increasing  want,  and  a  still 
more  rapidly  growing  desire  to  promise  to  pay  in- 
stead of  paying,  mechanical  appliances  were  pressed 
into   that   service. 

For  a  long  time  (Faust  nor  Guttenberg  had  yet 
appeared)  the  engraving  art  was  still  confined  to 
the  "  Niellatore,"  or  the  grotesque  and  rude  cuttings 
on  the  drinking  vessels  of  the  great  and  wealthy ; 
the    followers   of    that    art   traveling    from    town    to 

*  Irving's    Conquest   of    Granada. 


town,    with    the    necessary   delicate    tools    carried    in 
the   pocket   or   hat. 

Passing  over  the  long  period  when  the  kings  of 
France,  England,  and  other  equally  great  monarchs, 
ignorant  or  careless  of  the  honest  Count's  system, 
thumb-screwed  Jews,  and  occasionally  a  Gentile  or 
two,  debased  their  own  coin,  and  by  clipping  or  other 
process  rendered  it  nearly  valueless.  It  was  not 
until  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution  that  any 
step  was  taken'  in  banking  or  the  issuing  of  notes  of 
indebtedness,  whereby  the  security  to  the  holder  of 
such  certificates  was  at  all  considered,  or  any  pro- 
tection to  them  provided.  While  the  plastic  arts 
were  encouraged,  nay,  petted;  while  great  painters, 
sculptors,  and  engravers  were  springing  up,  and  a 
new  Augustan  age  appeared  to  be  dawning,  the  idea 
of  applying  art  to  commercial  purposes  seemed  never 
to  have  been  even  thought  of,  commerce  being  too 
vulgar,  or,  perhaps,  art  too  respectable. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  our  grand  struggle  for 
independence  that  Franklin  found  time,  from  his 
lightning-catching,  mail-carrying,  diplomatizing  and 
printing,  to  engrave,  en  amateur,  a  set,  or  several  sets, 
of  plates  for  the  Continental  money ;  and  his  work, 
much  of  which  is  still  in  existence,  shows  nothing 
more  than  the  coarse,  ill-drawn  practice  of  the  time, 
easily  and  frequently  counterfeited,  lessening  in  such 
proportion  the  value  of  what  was  legally  issued.  At 
the    still    later    period     of    the    French     Revolution, 


when  Painter  David  divided  his  time  with  designs 
for  fetes  to  the  Goddess  of  Reason,  or  to  litre  supreme, 
making  drawings  and  designs  to  be  "  at  once  clas- 
sical and  convenient "  for  military  school-boys,  and 
sending  "  aristocrats  "  and  "  respectabilities  "  to  look 
through  "  the  little  window,"  while  no  less  than  three 
engravers  sat  in  the  National  Assembly,  the  national 
assignats  and  mandate  were  hardly  a  shade  better 
in  appearance  or  execution  than  our  own  old  Con- 
tinental paper.  The  legend  on  the  face,  that  "  1e  con- 
trefaction  est  mort,''  was  supposed  to  be  enough,  and, 
as  the  powers  that  were  had  plenty  of  chancer  to 
prove  that  the  threat  on  the  face  of  the  assignai 
was  no  idle  one,  they  were  satisfied.  In  iact,  no 
provision  was  made  to  prevent  counterfeiting,  ex- 
cept by  the  English  mode  of  choking  the  culprit 
with  a  hempen  collar,  or  shortening  by  a  head,  like 
the  French ;  until  the  rapidly  developing  prosperity 
of  America,  or  rather  of  its  several  States,  under 
the  life-giving  hand  of  Liberty,  evoked  a  system, 
the  benefit  of  which  has  long  been  felt  by  our 
commercial  classes,  and  adopted  by  nations  of  the 
highest  civilization,  whenever  they  have  experienced 
the    want   of  a   perfect   paper  .currency. 

To  understand  clearly  what  is  meant  by  proper 
p.'ot.c'ion  to  the  takers  of  promises  .to  pay,-  whether 
the  promise  comes  from  an  individual,  from  a  cor- 
poration, or  from  a  nation,  through  its  .authorized 
agents,    the   party  or   parties   giving   such  promise   is. 


or   ought    to    be,    in    possession,    or   constructive    pos- 
session,   of  means    to    redeem  such  pledge  or  pledges; 
and    as    the    said    pledge    or    pledges    may    be    passed 
from    one    hand    to    another,    every    security   and    cer- 
tainty  of    the    genuineness    of    such    should    be   care- 
fully   added;    for,    while     A    may    have    no    doubt   of 
B's  willingness  and  ability  to    fulfill  his  engagements, 
like    the    brave,  hard-handed    Count  de  Tendilla,  both 
merchants,    dwelling    in    the    same   street,    or    in    the 
same    city,    or    in    cities    thousands    of    miles    apart, 
custom,  commercial  faith,  and  business   relations   they 
bear    together,    give    each    protection;    the    method    of 
drawing   on    each    other,    signatures    and    other    busi- 
ness intricacies,  render  both  comparatively  secure,  and 
they   liken    to    the    "  Count "    in    his   relation    to    the 
people   of    Alhama;    but   when    C,    D,    or    E    receives 
the  carefully  written  document  from  A,  in  payment  of 
his    (A's)    liabilities,    what    certainty    have    they    that 
the   engrossed    and    signed    evidence    of    B's   indebted- 
ness  is    genuine,    and  good  to    them   for   the    amount 
expressed    on    its    face  ?         Mow,    it    is    evident    that 
some    mechanical    security  is    required    here,  and   if  a 
pledge    to    perform   some    obligation    at   a   future    day 
is    made     by    a   corporation,    the    genuineness    of    the 
bond    is    at   once    looked    to,    or   it   is    taken   on    the 
good    faith   of  the  broker,  who    seems  to  act  between 
the    purchaser    and    the    seller,    additional    guarantee 
is    desired;    and   experience    shows    that    corporations 
of  the    highest   character  have  seldom  missed    an  op- 


portunity  to  prevent  fraud,  either  against  themselves 
or  those  dealing  with  them,  by  every  available 
appliance,  either  in  art,  or  mechanical  science  in 
connection  with  art.  A  merely  written  pledge,  no 
matter  how  elaborately  engrossed,  and  done  by  a 
single  hand,  is  so  exposed  to  counterfeiting,  that  no 
one  would  receive  it  with  such  security  alone. 
Were  it  to  be  done  simply  by  movable  types,  ac- 
cessible in  any  ordinary  printing-office,  who  would 
take  it?  Where  would  be  the  assurance  that  it  was 
ever  issued  by  the  body  from  whom  it  professed  to 
have  emanated  ?  If  promises  to  pay  from  nations  were 
now  to  be  handed  about,  produced  by  some  very 
short-handed  process,  the  possession  of  some  trifling 
material,  and  the  handicraft  skill,  (the  only  differ- 
ence between  the  counterfeiter  and  authorized  agent 
being  the  authority  of  the  latter  to  issue,  and  the 
punishment  of  death  as  a  penalty  for  intruding  on 
such  authority,)  what  would  the  legal  issues  be 
taken  for,  and  by  whom,  unless  when  force  was 
applied?  Of  the  transactions  between  individuals, 
there  need  be  no  further  inquiry ;  to  those  between 
corporations  and  individuals,  we  must  pay  more 
particular  attention. 

In  olden  times,  the  evidences  of  transactions 
were  carefully  engrossed  and  signed  by  the  masters 
and  wardens  of  corporations,  the  chairmen  of 
guilds,  and  were  never  issued  without  the  seal  of 
such   corporation    or  guild.      This     is    about   the   first 


of  the  instances  of  the  necessity  of  mechanical  or 
clerical  combination  against  the  forger,  independent 
of  the  lawfully  required  unity  in  the  act  of  those 
issuing  a  bond.  The  carefully  written  document 
had  no  value  without  the  joint  signatures;  the  bond 
and  signatures  were  still  valueless  without  the  seal. 
Thus,  whether  by  accident  or  design,  were  walls  put 
between  the  counterfeiter  and  his  desire  to  defraud. 
In  our  own  day,  when  education  is  almost  uni- 
versal, and  material  with  which  to  do  evil  is  easy 
of  access,  no  corporation  is  satisfied  with  their  own 
obligations,  when  put  out  freely,  unless  they  have 
every  security  which  law  and  art  can  give 
them,  that  the  public  may  take  their  pledges  with- 
out doubt,  and  that  they  themselves  may  be  pro- 
tected in  turn;  in  addition  to  which,  General 
Governments,  doubting  whether  corporations  have 
souls  or  not,  take  every  possible  safeguard  to  pre- 
vent an  issue  beyond  the  means  of  the  corporation, 
and  require  that  everything  they  issue,  be  it  in 
the  shape  of  a  bond  or  in  the  likeness  or  simili- 
tude of  a  bank  note,  be  prepared  so  as  to  prevent 
fraudulent   imitation. 

If  it  is  necessary  thus  to  guard  against  fraud, 
where  the  chances  of  its  detection  are  abundant, 
how  much  more  careful  should  General  Governments 
be  to  protect  those  for  whom  they  are  the  executors, 
particularly,  where  enormous  sums  are  scattered 
broadcast,   where  every   denomination  is   current,  and 


10 

where  the  few  cents  of  the  laborer,  and  the  five 
hundreds  of  the  merchant  prince,  spring  from  the 
same  source,  be  it  a  State,  an  assemblage  of 
States,   or   a   Kingdom  ? 

The  greater  part  of  the  civilized  world  has  real- 
ized the  fact  and  the  importance  of  the  approval  and 
adoption  of  a  system,  which  originating  on  this 
continent,  and  growing  out  of  its  prosperity,  has 
been  hailed    as   a  success,  and  adopted  as  a  security. 

Soon  after  the  American  war,  England,  though 
still  embroiled  in  a  saturnalia  of  blood,  was  (com- 
mercially) exceedingly  prosperous.  The  different  States 
of  America,  emerging  from  a  long  and  bloody  strug- 
gle, with  a  new-found  liberty,  untrammelled  by 
foreign  alliance,  an  enormous  domain,  extensive  sea- 
coast,  and  a  hardy  and  self-reliant  people,  experienced 
business  prosperity  and  success  unexampled  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  Both  countries  felt  a  want 
hitherto  unknown  in  their  mutual  transactions,  (an 
extensive  trade  following  the  war;)  a  lack  of  some- 
thing to  represent  values  well  ascertained;  but  from 
scarcity  of  bullion,  its  difficulty  of  transport,  the  risk 
attending  its  transmission,  and  the  want  of  a  new 
system  of  paper  money,  the  subject  agitated  the  minds 
of  the  whole  business  community.  The  English  tried 
hanging  extensively,  and  without  effect;  commissions 
of  inquiry  as  to  the  invention  or  introduction  of  a 
method  of  producing  bank  notes  were  established — 
one   under    Sir    William    Congreve,    to   which    all   the 


11 

best  artists  of  England  wore  invited,  and  liberal 
rewards  were  offered.  The  most  brilliant  artists  of 
the  day  in  England  promptly  responded;  beautiful 
drawings  and  engravings  were  submitted,  and  the 
collective  artist  voice  of  England  answered  that 
there  was  no  protection  against  the  forger  and 
counterfeiter,  unless  by  the  highest  expression  of 
the  arts  of  drawing  and  engraving,  and  the  finest 
and  most  complicated  lettering,  coupled  with  the  use 
of  carefully  prepared  paper.  The  employment  of  the 
Rose  engine  was  also  suggested  as  an  additional 
security.  About  the  same  time  that  the  artists  of 
England  were  thus  exercising  themselves,  an  Ameri- 
can engraver,  Mr.  Joshua  Perkins,  was  cracking  the 
nut  of  the  difficulty,  which  was  nearly  as  great  at 
that  time  in  the  American  States  as  in  England. 
(In  a  few  years,  but  for  Mr.  Perkins,  it  would 
have  been  much  greater.)  With  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  engraving  art,  Mr.  Perkins,  remarkable  for 
skill  in  mechanics,  and  deep  knowledge,  for  the 
time,  in  the  management  of  steel,  its  carbonization 
and  decarbonization,  had  come  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion as  the  English  artists,  viz  :  the  importance 
of  the  introduction  of  the  highest  development  of 
the  commercial  art  of  the  dav.  He  went  much 
further,  and  proved  that  it  was  not  only  the  great- 
est protection,  but  also  successfully  met  the  objections 
which  arose  from  the  statements  of  the  English 
artists,    who    endeavored    to   prove     that,    no     matter 


12 

how  desirable,  high  art  could  not  be  employed,  from 
the  scarcity  of  skilled  labor  indispensable  to  that 
end.  The  only  method  suggested  by  them  of  pro- 
duction or  reproduction  was,  that  upon  the  receipt 
of  an  elaborate  drawing,  the  engraver  was  to  closet 
himself  for  months,  if  need  be,  and  carefully  pro- 
duce a  work  of  art  which,  after  having  the  addi- 
tion of  the  necessary  lettering,  would  be  published  to 
the  world  as  a  bank  note.  The  objections  to  this 
mode  are  several,  and  self-evident.  First:  Plates 
wear  out  rapidly,  and  the  sickness  or  death  of  the 
artist  would  involve  the  destruction  of  the  original 
plate  when  worn,  it  being  next  to  impossible  to 
make  an  accurate  or  successful  copy ;  again,  it 
would  put  the  Government  in  the  hands  of  the 
first  artist  who  might  make  enormous  demands  to 
reproduce  his  own  work;  but  the  insuperable  bar- 
rier existed,  that  there  were  not  skilled  artists 
enough  in  the  country,  nori  probably  in  the  world, 
to  meet  with  the  daily  and  increasing  wants  of 
the  nation.  The  invention  of  Mr.  Perkins,  and 
a  description  of  his  method  of  reproducing  the 
finest  engravings,  and  their  application,  is  worthy  of 
another  chapter. 


IS 


CHAPTER     II. 

The  preservation  and  reproduction  of  the  finest 
work  of  the  engraving  art  in  "petit"  was  all  of 
Mr.  Perkins'  invention.  Knowing  that  the  steel  upon 
which  the  skilled  and  patient  artist  had  curiously 
and  cunningly  wrought  the  careful  tracery  of  face 
and  form,  of  hill  and  dale,  the  classic  and  gro- 
tesque, the  heroic  and  the  humble,  would,  under 
the  hand  of  the  printer,  soon  become  obliterated, 
he,  fortunately  for  art,  introduced,  or  rather  invented, 
an  application  of  well  known  chemical  laws  to  the 
preservation  of  the  art  gem  so  carefully  manipu- 
lated, and,  by  an  inversion  of  his  processes,  multi- 
plied   it   ad   infinitum. 

Without  troubling  the  reader  with  the  philo- 
sophical details  of  Mr.  Perkins'  process,  we  will 
simply  state  his  manner  of  procedure.  Into  an 
air-tight  box,  filled  with  finely  powdered  animal 
charcoal,  the  glittering  and  beautiful  piece  of  steel 
is  imbedded;  the  metal  box  and  its  precious  con- 
tents are  then  submitted  to  the  action  of  an 
intense  fire  for  several  hours.  The  steel,  previously 
robbed  of  its  carbon,  to  render  it  soft  enough  for 
the  steel  instrument  of  the  engraver,  sucks,  as  it 
were,  from  the  carbon  by  which  it  is  surrounded, 
under  the  influence  of  the  fiery  god,  that  which 
it    had    formerly.       Its     hardness     secured     by     the 


14 

workman  plunging  the  reddened  plate  into  water 
or  oil.  It  now  bids  defiance  to  the  instrument 
that  previously  could  plough  through  its  polished 
surface.  The  plate  hardened,  has  become  brittle, 
and,  under  a  severe  blow,  would  almost  crumble; 
still  its  hardness  enables  it  to  despise  friction,  and 
the  tablet  is  in  a  condition  which  may  yield  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  impressions.  The  ,  artist,  pur- 
suing his  object,  and  not  content  with  securing  his 
original  engraving,  determines  that  it  shall  serve 
as  the  matrix  of  copies  innumerable.  On  the  per- 
iphery of  a  cylinder  of  steel,  thoroughly  decarbon- 
ized, and  under  the  rolling  pressure  of  the  transfer 
press,  all  the  delicate  lines  in  intaglio,  every  scratch, 
cut,  or  even  the  nervous  trace  of  the  carelessly 
imposed  hand,  is,  however,  taken  up  en  relievo. 
This  roll,  or  cylinder,  is,  then,  in  turn,  submitted 
to  the  hardening  process,  which,  if  successfully 
prosecuted,  gives  to  the  engraver  a  tool  by  which 
his  art  treasures  can  be  multiplied  millions  of 
times. 

It  is  deemed  proper  in  this  paper  to  avoid  all 
technical,  chemical,  or  philosophic  terms,  although 
the  memory  of  Mr.  Perkins  may  be  wronged,  when 
the  deep  thought,  the  careful  analysis,  and  fre- 
quent experiment,  is  not  sufficiently  dwelt  upon 
and  lauded,  for  he  not  only  made  the  egg  to 
stand  on  its  end,  but  accomplished  what  the  artist 
world    of    France    and    England   deemed    an    impossi- 


15 

bility.  His  process  perfected,  Perkins,  and  three 
other  artist  compatriots,  went  to  England.  That 
nation,  still  smarting,  every  portion  of  its  human 
economy  being  touched,  if  not  hurt,  received  them 
coldly  —  warmth  was  scarcely  to  be  expected,  and 
these  gentlemen  met,  in  their  attempt  to  answer  a 
national  call,  contempt,  rudeness,  and  (but  for  the 
presence  of  some  Americans  of  wealth)  poverty, 
and,  perhaps,  a  sheriff's  prison.  Even  Sir  William 
Cokgreve,  in  his  report,  dispatches  the  invention 
of  Perkins,  and  the  labor  of  his  coadjutors,  with 
the  expression,  that  "  our  American  friends  were 
ignorant   of  the    state    of  the   fine    arts    in   England." 

It  is  strange  that  Sir  William  should  not  have 
recognized  the  fact  that  thi  foreign  artists  did  not 
wish  to  destroy  the  engraving  art,  but  only 
to  perpetuate  its  finest  or  best  expression,  to 
to  make  it  comparatively  free  to  the  public,  and 
give  to  the  masses  what  was  then  only  obtainable 
by  the  wealthy;  and  for  the  purposes  of  banks, 
either  national  or  local,  a  security  the}'  never 
before  possessed.  First,  by  reproducing,  with  great 
rapidity  and  trifling  cost,  the  finest  works  of  the 
engraver;  secondly,  the  absolute  veri-similitude  of 
each  transfer  from  the  original ;  thirdly,  the  di- 
vision of  labor,  when  bank  notes  were  required, 
involving,  without  increasing  the  real  cost,  the  labor 
of  the    following   described    artists    and    workmen  : 

The     designer     or    modeler    of    the    note    or     bond. 


16 

The  draughtsman  of  the  specific  vignettes  or 
ornamentations. 

The   etcher   of  the   before-named    subjects. 

The   finisher,   or   artist,   who    adds    the  final   touch. 

The   letterers,   (usually  divided  into   three    classes). 

The  artist,  who  cuts,  by  the  geometrical  lathe, 
the    intricate    denomination    counters,    etc. 

The  machinist,  who  presides  over  the  process  of 
carbonization,    etc. 

The    transferer. 

Now,  here  is  named  the  staff  indispensable  to  the 
production  of  a  bank  note  plate,  according  to  the 
system  of  Mr.  Perkins.  It  is  true,  that  very  often 
artists  may  be  found  who  unite  in  themselves  the 
designer  and  the  engraver,  the  etcher  and  the 
finisher,  the  chemist  and  the  transferer,  but  no 
instance  is  recorded  of  any  one  man  possessing 
sufficient  knowledge  to  successfully  produce  a  set 
of  duplicate  plates  of  such  high  artistic  merit  as 
has  been  required  by  the  bankers  of  this  continent 
for  the  last  fifty  years.  The  practice  recommended 
by  Sir  William  Congreve  placed  all  the  security 
in  the  skill  of  one  man;  the  mode  suggested  by 
Perkins,  Fairman,  and  other  American  artists,  in- 
creased the  difficulty  and  the  security,  by  dividing 
the  labor  and  multiplying  the  skill.  By  the  in- 
tricate appliances  of  mechanical  ability,  compara- 
tively easy  to  obtain,  the  labor  of  six  months  was 
reproduced     in     so     many    hours,     and     the    creative 


17 

hand  and  mind  was  left  to  the  production  of  fresh 
beauties,  instead  of  slowly  and  drudgingly  copying 
itself  in  its  works.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  urge 
that  no  community  should  put  itself  into  the 
hands  of  one  man.  In  business,  as  in  politics, 
there  is  but  one  result — the  whim  of  the  dictator 
"in  purple  and  fine  linen."  or  the  whim,  or 
death,  of  a  single  artist.  The  American  artists, 
after  being  well  informed  of  the  fact  that  the 
English  commission  and  the  English  artists  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  no  good  could  come 
out  of  an  American  Nazareth,  returned  home, 
Perkins  having  first  secured  a  patent,  and  estab- 
lished a  house,  under  the  title  of  Perkins,  Bacon 
&    Co. 


CHAPTER    III. 

It  was  natural  that  the  parent  should  reject 
words  of  wisdom  or  instruction  from  the  child ; 
England,  "still  unconquered  and  uncivilized,"*  would 
not  be  instructed  by  a  rebel  scion,  and  continued 
to  hang  fellows  for  forgery,  after  first  giving  them 
an  inducement  and  a  premium  for  doing  so,  by 
rendering  it  so  easy  to  be  done.  In  the  year  1813, 
a    printer,    a     common     workman,    was     hanged     in 

*  Shee'a   Rhvmes   on    Art. 


IS 

Dublin,  Ireland,  for  forgery,  id  est,  printing  forged 
notes ;  and  on  the  same  day,  before  the  body  of 
the  culprit  was  quite  cold,  his  son  was  arrested 
while  working  the  same  press,  and  committing  the 
same  crime,  for  which  his  father  had  suffered  the 
penalty  of  the  law.  The  son  was  hanged.  But  if 
the  Government  of  England  had  continued  hanging 
offenders  against  its  paper  currency  until  this  day, 
it  would  not  have  lessened  the  commission  of  the 
crime.  It  was  forced,  as  much  by  its  wants  as 
the  example  of  foreign  countries,  to  effect  a  radical 
change  in  its  mode  of  issue,  and,  by  rendering  the 
crime  more  difficult  of  execution,  gave  protection 
to  the  public.  Twenty-five  years  after  the  visit 
of  Mr.  Perkins  to  Great  Britain,  the  National  Bank 
of  Ireland  had  adopted  his  plan  in  its  entirety ; 
and  nearly  all  the  banks  of  England  adopted  some 
modification,  when  not  used  completely.  All  the 
American  States,  and  the  British  American  Prov- 
inces, had,  from  its  invention,  their  bank  notes 
produced  in  that  way.  The  enormous  amount  of 
employment  thus  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the 
engravers,  who  devoted  their  attention  and  skill  to 
what  is  technically  termed  "bank  note  engraving," 
enabled  them  to  spend  large  sums  in  the  produc- 
tion of  beautiful  specimens  of  art,  and  subjects  in 
portraiture,  history,  mythology,  landscape,  etc., 
became  common  to  the  faces  of  the  circulating 
bank   bill.     At   the  same  time,   no   effort  was   spared 


19 

to  improve  or  devise  instruments  of  the  utmost 
intricacy  for  the  production,  mechanically,  of  orna- 
naments,  the  forging  of  which,  by  the  human 
hand,  was  an  impossibility.  In  short,  no  effort 
was  left  unmade  to  guard  the  public,  that  the 
highest  expression  of  art,  combined  with  the  great- 
est mechanical  ingenuity,  could  afford.  One  of  the 
strongest  evidences  of  how  completely  baffled  the 
forger  had  become,  was  the  report,  some  seven 
years  since,  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States,  wherein  it  was  stated  "that 
the  number  of  frauds  against  the  metallic  currencj^, 
as  compared  to  those  against  the  paper  circulation, 
was  as  twenty  to  one  in  favor  of  the  bank  notes 
as   a   public   security." 

That  foreign  nations  have  recognized  the  value 
of  the  invention,  and  the  extent  of  its  develop- 
ment, is  proved  in  several  instances.  During  the 
residence  of  ex-Governor  Pickens,  of  South  Carolina, 
at  the  Court  of  Russia,  through  his  intervention, 
probably,  the  entire  paper  currency  of  the  empire 
was  changed  into  one  made  in  America,  and  a  large 
and  completely  fitted  out  establishment,  with  artists 
and  machinists,  was  sent  out  to  St.  Petersburg. 
The  Emperor  of  Brazil,  also,  adopted  a  similarly 
made  issue.  The  British  Government,  for  its  colo- 
nial postage  stamps,  King  Otho;  for  the  national 
notes  of  the  Kingdom  of  Greece;  and  many  of  the 
South    American    Republics;    all,    by    their    adoption 


20 

of  the  mode,  and  intrusting  the  execution  of  their 
notes  to  the  American  engravers,  gave  the  highest 
testimony  of  the  excellence  of  the  system  employed. 
Despite,  however,  of  the  many  advantages  that 
bank  note  plates  made  by  transferring  from  the 
original  hardened  steel  possess,  yet  many  countries 
continue  to  follow  the  old  -methods,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Bank  of  England,  where  the  printing  of 
the  notes  is  done  from  raised  surfaces,  or  blocks, 
similar  to  brass  stamps  that  book-binders  use  for 
ornamenting  the  covers  of  books ;  the  main  pro- 
tection being  in  the  peculiarity  of  the  paper,  and 
the  system  of  numbering,  the  English  bill  never 
being  for  a  smaller  sum  than  five  pounds  sterling, 
and  when  received  for  redemption  is  never  re- 
issued. Bank  of  England  notes  seldom  "find  their 
way  into  the  hands  or  pockets  of  the  working  or 
laboring  people,  their  use  being  mostly  confined  to 
the  wealthy  or  mercantile  classes.  By  that  means, 
when  a  fraudulent  note  is  issued,  it  can  be  (com- 
paratively) easily  traced  to  the  source  it  sprung 
from.  Probably  their  excellent  police  system,  and 
the  certainty  of  severe  punishment  being  inflicted 
on  the  criminal  when  caught,  may  assist  in  the 
prevention  of  forgery.  Extensive  frauds  have,  how- 
ever, occurred,  and  thefts  of  paper  are  not  un- 
common. 

Iii     the     German     States,     on     the     Continent     of 
Europe,   wood    cuts,    with    mortices   for    type   letters, 


21 

are  much  used,  and  are  of  the  rudest  execution ; 
the  paper  used  in  the  printing  being  made  under 
royal  authority,  the  printing  itself  is  often  in  a 
combination  of  colors,  prepared  by  eminent  chemists, 
in  national  laboratories,  and  their  composition  pre- 
served   as   a   profound   secret. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Lithography,  or  the  art  of  printing  on  stone, 
has  of  late  years  become  extensively  used  in 
various  ways.  Its  simplicity,  its  easy  adaptation  to 
every  variety  of  pictorial  representation,  its  cheap- 
ness, the  facility  of  reproducing  or  multiplying 
itself,  has  rendered  it  a  most  useful  addition  to 
printing  processes,  and  a  formidable  rival  to  the 
more  ancient,  but  more  perfect,  art  of  engraving 
on   copper    and    steel. 

There  are  three  departments  cf  lithographic  pro- 
duction which  are  all  in  general  u?e,  and  are 
totally  distinct  from  each  other,  having  each  its 
peculiar  merits  and  facilities  for  supplying  the 
wants  of  the  public.  The  first  is  used  exclusively 
for  pictorial  purposes,  from  the  rough  caricature  to 
the  highly  finished  and  artistic  historical  picture. 
The  admirable  chalk  drawings  of  Julien  Lemercier, 
of    Paris,    the    gorgeous    chromo-lithographs,     are    fa- 


9,9, 


miliar  to  all.  This  branch  of  the  art  affords  line 
scope  for  artistic  talent,  and  possesses  a  peculiar 
charm  for  all  lovers  of  the  picturesque,  and  has 
been  brought  to  a  high  point  of  perfection  by  its 
disciples   in    France    and    England. 

Second.  Engraving  on  stone  is  found  useful  prin- 
cipally in  the  production  .of  topographical  maps, 
book  illustrations,  scientific  diagrams,  labels,  etc/; 
it  is  practiced  chiefly  in  Germany,  where  it  has 
mostly  superceded  engraving  on  steel  and  copper. 
It  is,  however,  incapable  of  highly  finished  produc- 
tions, and  the  attempts  at  pictorial  representations 
are    feeble,    flat,    and    altogether    wanting   in   effect. 

Third.  This  branch  of  lithography,  which  is 
nearly  dependent  on  the  efforts  of  the  steel  engraver, 
and  has  been  in  vogue  for  many  years,  principally 
in  England,  and  of  late  introduced  to  this  country, 
where  it  has  met  with  very  great  success,  is  sim- 
ply the  transferring  of  impressions  of  engraved 
plates  to  stone,  and  printing  from  the  transfer. 
The  enormous  multiplying  power  of  this  mode 
will  readily  be  perceived  by  the  reader,  on  being- 
informed  of  the  fact  that  an  engraved  steel  plate 
will  print,  say  twenty-five  thousand  copies,  and 
each  one  of  these  impressions,  when  transferred  to 
stone,  will  yield,  when  printed  by  a  careful  hand, 
six  thousand.  This  branch  of  the  business  is  de- 
voted mainly  to  what  is  technically  called  "com- 
mercial    work,"     such     as     bank     checks,     bills     of 


23 

exchange,  promissory  notes,  and  all  the  blank 
documents  required  in  commercial  transactions.  Not- 
withstanding the  cheapness  and  utility  of  this 
method  of  reproduction,  it  carries  upon  its  face 
the  inevitable  stamp  of  inferiority,  and  has  never 
been  brought  into  requisition  by  banks  of  issue 
in    this    country   for   their   notes    of   circulation. 

An  impression  from  a  steel  plate,  taken  on  the 
enameled  paper  of  the  lithographer,  however  beau- 
tiful and  perfect  the  engraving  may  be,  when  laid 
on  the  stone,  and  passed  through  the  press  re- 
repeatedly,  under  a  powerful  pressure,  loses  a  great 
portion  of  the  delicate  tracing  and  finish  of  the 
lighter  parts,  as  well  as  the  rich  velvety  tones  of 
the  shadows  of  the  original;  the  sharp,  well  de- 
fined lines  of  the  artist's  "burin',"  the  free  and 
Mowing  expressions  of  the  practiced  etcher  in  land- 
scape, the  clear  and  carefully  traced  details  of  the 
human  form,  the  delicate  gradations  of  light  and 
shadow  in  a  sky  or  cloud,  are  partially  lost,  and 
what  remains,  is  but  a  grey,  broken  mass  of  lines, 
offensive  to  the  eye  of  the  true  connoisseur;  again, 
impressions  from  stone  are  liable  to  the  same  ob- 
jections as  may  be  urged  against  all  "surface 
printing,"  the  paper  receiving  a  mere  film  of  ink 
from  stone,  and,  consequently,  soon  obliterated  by 
constant  handling;  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the 
quantity  of  ink  deposited  on  the  paper  from  an  en- 
graved   steel  or   copper   plate,    would    be    sufficient    to 


24 

produce  ten  or  more  from  the  transfer  on  stone ;  this 
fact  accounts  for  the  great  durability,  so  to  speak,  of 
the  engraved  bank  note ;  the  ink  used,  being  a  pure 
carbon,  will  retain  its  color  and  sharpness  as  long 
as  the  paper  upon  which  it  has  been  deposited  will 
hold  together.  Notes  which  were  issued  by  our 
Government  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  en- 
graved by  Keatinge  &  Ball,  were  in  circulation, 
(having  been  re-issued  many  times,)  up  to  the  time 
of  funding  them,  while  stacks  upon  stacks  of  the 
lithographic  issue  were  cancelled  or  destroyed,  never 
being  in  a  fit  condition  for  re-issue,  even  after  a  few 
months'    circulation. 

The  pressing  wants  of  our  Government  have  forced 
into  use  this  process  of  lithography ,  in  which,  it  is 
easy  to  perceive,  there  is  little  protection,  and,  un- 
fortunately, offers  a  premium  to  crime  by  simpli- 
fying  its    commission. 

As  before  explained,  there  is,  in  the  preparation 
of  bank  notes,  a  great  number  of  skilled  and 
accomplished  artists  engaged ;  by  lithography,  the 
ease  with  which  copies  of  the  works  of  these  artists 
are  produced,  or  rather  reproduced,  is  so  great  that  its 
merits  as  a  distributer  of  their  productions  becomes 
the  strongest  reason  why  its  employment  should  not 
be  resorted  to  whenever  or  wherever  a  more  elabo- 
rate or  complicated  method  of  making  a  bank  note 
can  be  adopted.  The  banks  and  bankers  of  Europe 
and    America  have,  long    ago,  pronounced    against  it, 


25 

unless  where  some  specific  protection  was  afforded 
outside  the  art,  or  mechanical  security  offered  by  the 
mere    printing   or   engraving. 

Another  consideration  in  connection  with  this  sub- 
ject demands  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  the 
purity  or  genuineness  of  our  paper  circulation.  In 
an  establishment,  either  Governmental  or  private, 
having  authority  to  issue  paper  money,  the  abstrac- 
tion of  sheets  or  notes  by  officers  or  clerks  is  of  very 
rare  occurrence,  the  individuals  employed  in  such 
institutions  being,  in  all  cases,  men  of  known  probity 
and  under  heavy  bonds.  The  history  of  the  bank 
note  engraving  and  printing  establishments  of  America, 
furnishes  the  remarkable  fact,  that  fraudulent  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  employees  has  seldom  or  never 
occurred ;  the  system  adopted,  being  the  result 
of  long  experience,  has  rendered  theft  or  abstraction, 
to  any  extent,  quite  impossible;  besides,  it  has  been 
found  that  persons  regularly  employed  in  the  prose- 
cution of  that  business,  have  always  been  known  to 
be  extremely  zealous  in  the  prevention  of  fraud  as 
well    as    in    the    detection    of  the   counterfeiter. 

In  lithography,  or  where  movable  types  are  used, 
the  case  with  which  fraud  can  be  committed,  un- 
fortunately, renders  crime  too  frequent.  An  im- 
pression of  the  most  elaborate  plate,  taken  with 
what  is  known  as  "  transfer  ink,"  easy  of  access  and 
not  at  all  difficult  to  make  from  the  abundant  re- 
ceipts and  instructions  published,  can,  if  a  workman 
4 


is  so  disposed,  be  taken  off,  concealed,  taken  else- 
where, transferred  to  stone,  and  copies,  to  any 
extent,  put  into  circulation,  differing  from  the  genu- 
ine only  in  the  signatures,  which  afford  no  protection 
to  the  public,  and  require  the  keen-eyed  expert  for 
their  detection.  Knowing  that  great  frauds  have 
been  committed,  have  we  not  a  perfect  right  to  doubt 
the  security  of  a  system  that  gives  to  a  common 
workman  the  opportunity  as  well  as  the  temptatkn 
of  enriching  himself,  with  so  little  risk,  and  so  few 
chances  of  detection,  and  of  the  punishment  due 
to   his    crime  ? 


C  II  A  P  T  E  R     V  . 

The  different  methods  employed  as  safeguards  against 
the  efforts  of  the  counterfeiter  have  been  the  sub- 
ject of  much  thought  and  investigation  among  the 
members  of  the  various  establishments  of  bank  note 
engravers.  Many  have  been  from  time  to  time 
adopted  and  abandoned  but  the  most  effectual  at 
the  present  are  believed  to  be:  First,  the  sub- 
division of  labor  in  the  engraving  department,  which, 
with  the  employment  of  the  best  talent,  obtains  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection  in  the  various  produc- 
tions of  that  branch,  thereby  rendering  it  impossible 
for  one  man,  successfully,  to    imitate    them. 


Second,  the  repetition  of  the  denominations  of  the 
note  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  carried  to  any  ex- 
tent by  means  of  the  transfer  press.  This  work  may 
be  incorporated  with  the  body  of  the  note  or  printed 
from  a  separate  plate  in  a  color.  This  is  found  to 
be  a  great  addition  to  its  security:  the  original 
word  or  words  being  engraved  with  a  view  to  its 
perfection,  is  repeated  to  infinity,  if  necessary,  and 
absolute  similarity  is  obtained  throughout  the  whole, 
which  would  be  impossible  when  done  by  hand. 
y^vy  beautiful  "denomination  counters"  are  pro- 
duced in  a  similar  manner,  and  present  still  greater 
difficulties    to    the    counterfeiter. 

Third,  the  Medallion  Ruling  Machine.  The  beau- 
tiful work  produced  by  this  machine,  so  much  admired 
by  the  lovers  of  classic  and  the  antique,  was  in 
very  general  use  twenty  years  ago,  and  considered, 
at  that  time,  as  an  effectual  bar  to  imitation,  but 
is  now  considered  less  as  a  security  than  as  a 
means  of  ornamentation.  The  machine  is  of  such 
simple  construction  and  so  easy  to  be  obtained, 
that  its  use,  as  a  security,  has  been  nearly  aban- 
doned. 

Fourth,  the  Geometric  Lathe  has  been  esteemed, 
at  all  times,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  public  securitv 
against  the  dangers  of  forgery.  This  wonderful  and 
truly  "  eccentric "  machine  has  a  power  of  produc- 
tion, as  regards  change  and  variety  of  combination 
and  effect,  that  is   reallv  amazing.     The   least  change 


28 

of  a  wheel  of  the  eccentric,  or  turn  of  a  set  screw, 
produces  a  new  pattern  that  shames  the  kaleido- 
scope. It  defies  the  efforts  of  the  mathematician  to 
calculate  the  extent  of  its  variations;  the  lines  inter- 
twining and  crossing  each  other  at  all  angles  are 
perfection  itself,  conforming  to  any  shape  the  opera- 
tor chooses  to  adopt;  and  when  the  transfer  press 
is  brought  to  its  aid,  to  give  additional  change  to 
the  character  of  its  work,  human  ingenuity  fails  in 
the   attempt  to   produce  an    imitation. 

Fifth,  the  Transfer  Press  is  the  triumph  of  Mr. 
Perkins'  invention ;  it  is  the  foundation  upon  which 
the  whole  superstructure  of  the  art  of  bank  note 
engraving  rests.  It  may  be  likened  to  the  lever  of 
Archimedes,  in  its  power  to  u  move  the  world."  A 
powerful  compound  lever  over  a  solid  bed  of  iron, 
upon  which  the  hardened  plate  is  placed,  the  soft 
cylinder  or  "  die "  then  placed  in  position,  the  pon- 
derous lever  closes  on  it,  a  rolling  motion  forward 
and  backwards  is  communicated,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  ductile  metal  receives  the  reverse  of  the  engrav- 
ing with  the  certainty  and  accuracy  of  the  electrotype 
battery.  Recent  improvements  have  added  greatly 
to  the  general  utility  of  this  machine.  Many  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  elaborate  ornaments  on  our  notes 
are  produced  by  transferring  process,  and  though  the 
production  of  new  plates  and  the  "retouching"  of 
those  worn  by  the  hand  of  the  printer,  brings  it 
into   daily  and    hourly   requisition,  yet    it    knows    no 


"  idle  time  "  in  the  various  other  duties  it  is  expected 
to    perform. 

The  competition    for  patronage    which    has    always 
existed    among  the  various  establishments  engaged    in 
the  business  of   bank  note  engraving,  which,  while  it 
gave  rise  to  many  important  mechanical  improvements, 
and    impulse    to    the    creative  faculties    of  the    artist, 
yet  in    the  inordinate    desire    for  the    introduction    of 
novelties,    has,    in    some    respects,    vitiated    the    tastes 
of   the    community.     This    is    observed    in    the    over- 
crowded,   many-colored,     badly-modeled    notes    of    the 
present  day,  giving  to  the    bank  note    much    the    ap- 
pearance of  a  fanciful   label  on    a  cologne  water    bot- 
tle;  and  so  far  from  adding  to  the  difficulty  of  coun- 
terfeiting, it  is  argued  that  a  poor  imitation  of  one  of 
these  parti-colored    notes  is  more  likely  to  be  success- 
ful than  that  of  a   note  of  a  more  simple  design.     A 
counterfeit  is  oftener  detected  at  a  single  glance  than 
by  close    examination;  that    is    to  say,  the  first    look 
at   a   note   determines    either    its    genuineness    or    its 
doubtful    character,  and    it  is    only  on  elos.e  examina- 
tion    that    certainty   is     obtained;    the    least    change, 
either  in    general    appearance    or    any  of   the  details, 
will   be    perceived    instantaneously,  where   the  embel- 
lishments   are    well    placed    and    distinct    from     each 
other,    while     the     gorgeous,    calico-patterned    note    of 
present    fashion   fatigues    and    confuses     the    eye,    de- 
priving  that    organ    of    its    keenness   of    observation, 
and   exposing  its  owner  to  loss  and  vexation. 


30 

Perfection,  or  an  approximation  to  it,  in  every 
department  or  detail  connected  with  the  production 
of  a  bank  note,  is  the  true  safeguard  against  fraud. 
The  artist,  the  machinist,  the  printer,  and  every 
operative  employed,  should  be  of  the  highest  ability. 
The  thousand  and  one  different  materials  used 
should  be  of  the  best  of  their  kind,  all  and  each 
of*  these  contributing  to  the  final  result ;  thus, 
rendering  every  step  towards  the  successful  imita- 
tion of  a  note  more  difficult,  as  the  lack  of  any 
one  of  these  many  requirements  has  a  marked 
effect  upon  the  efforts  of  the  forger,  and  baffles 
the    ingenuity    of  the    most    skillful. 

It  is  in  the  want  of  material  that  the  prosecu- 
tion of  bank  note  engraving  and  printing  in  the 
Confederacy  has  met  with  the  greatest  difficulties. 
Many  of  the  most  important  articles  are  not  to 
be  obtained  in  Europe  of  the  quality  desired;  oth- 
ers have  to  be  improvised,  as  it  were,  on  the 
spot.  The  swamps  of  South  Carolina  furnish  the 
vegetable  carbon  for  the  inks,  and  the  hills  of 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  the  oils.  Plates  and 
dies  made  from  the  crude  steel.  The  manufacture 
of  machinery  and  presses  gives  employment  to  me- 
chanism of  an  entirely  novel  character  in  the 
South;  in  fact,  to  establishments  of  this  kind,  ne- 
cessity has  added  to  the  machine  shop  the  labora- 
tory   of  the    chemist. 

One    of  the   peculiarities    of  this    business    is,    that 


31 

time,  as  well  as  capital,  is  necessary  for  its  suc- 
cessful prosecution,  where  large  demands  are  made 
upon  it;  the  accumulation  of  the  labor  of  the  .artist, 
the  immense  variety  of  embellishment  required  at 
his  hands  can  be  obtained  only  by  patient  and 
persevering  labor.  The  progress  made,  under  these 
difficulties  and  peculiarities,  in  the  Confederacy  is, 
therefore,  gratifying,  and  gives  assurance  that  when 
the  clouds  of  war  arc  dissipated,  the  commerce  of 
the  world  admitted  again  to  our  silent  wharves, 
and  peace,  with  healing  wings,  brings  health,  ac- 
tivity, and  her  innumerable  blessings  to  the  once 
happy  people  of  the  Confederacy,  this  important 
branch'  of  industry  will  take  its  legitimate  rank, 
bestowing  its  benefits  upon  the  commonwealth,  as 
well  as  honor  and  profit  upon  those  engaged  in  its 
prosecution. 


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